Center for Iranian Studies opens in Istanbul

The Center for Iranian Studies in Istanbul, or IRAM Istanbul, has opened on Wednesday with a panel discussion focusing on Iran and its effects in the Middle East.

The IRAM Istanbul organized the event — titled Iranian Factor in the Middle East Balances — as part of its opening ceremony in Turkey’s largest city. IRAM’s headquarters is located in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Speaking at the event, IRAM’s Deputy Chairman Dr. Hakki Uygur spoke about ongoing protests in Iran.

“There are all kinds of grounds available in this country [Iran] for such protests,” Uygur said referring to the demonstrations, which started earlier this month over the government’s decision to raise fuel prices in the country.

At least 143 people in Iran have been killed since protests began, according to Amnesty International on Monday.

Uygur said that the Iranian economy was in “bad condition” especially since May 2018 when U.S. President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a historic nuclear deal.

The nuclear agreement was signed in 2015 between Iran and Russia, China, France, the U.K., and the U.S., plus Germany.

Trump intensified pressure on Tehran by re-imposing sanctions targeting the country’s energy and banking sectors.

Uygur said that it was not easy to run an economically shrinking country during a crisis.

“The Iranian state took heavy measures against the protests since they saw a potential for growth,” he said, adding demonstrations are expected to continue because the problems will remain as long as the U.S. and Iran do not reconcile.

Other speakers at the panel discussion were Talip Kucukcan of Istanbul’s Marmara University; Zekeriya Kursun, the head of the History Department at the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University, and journalist Turan Kislakci.

IRAM was founded in 2016 in Ankara and “It is the first center of its kind in Turkey that focuses on Iran and its region,” according to its website.